Salon.com > The Office http://www.salon.com Sun, 27 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Mindy Kaling: Our sitcom dream girl http://www.salon.com/2012/05/15/mindy_kaling_our_sitcom_dream_girl/ http://www.salon.com/2012/05/15/mindy_kaling_our_sitcom_dream_girl/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 16:40:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=12920699 After an exhausting year of would-be TV manic dream girls trying to charm, seduce and pratfall their way into our hearts, this fall we get the woman we've wanted all along. Let the finger crossing for "The Mindy Kaling Project" commence!

On the surface, a sitcom about a young, kooky OB/GYN with a spotty dating history and a penchant for getting falling-down drunk doesn't exactly scream "groundbreaking." But it's the presence of the woman who's given us the fearlessly self-obsessed Kelly Kapoor on "The Office" all these years, who wrote a book called "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" and who launched her career channeling Ben Affleck in a play, that gives the show the distinct possibility of actually not sucking.

Why is Kaling great? Why does her formulaic show look considerably more promising than the already-canceled-in-my-mind "Guys With Kids"? For starters, she's already been at it for seven years. TV is her zone. She doesn't harbor the affected air of a stand-up comic or a slumming movie star, trying to cram herself into 22 fake-fun minutes. Instead, like "SNL" veterans Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, she's got a natural flair and rhythm for the medium.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/05/15/mindy_kaling_our_sitcom_dream_girl/feed/ 2 “The Office” implodes http://www.salon.com/2012/03/23/the_office_implodes/ http://www.salon.com/2012/03/23/the_office_implodes/#comments Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:45:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=12725071 If NBC has its way, “The Office,” currently in its eighth season and its first Steve Carell-less one, will be back for a ninth year. But it looks like that will only happen in extremely altered circumstances.

Yesterday, show-runner Paul Lieberstein, who also plays the phlegmatic Tobey Flenderson, announced he would be stepping down to focus on a possible “Office” spinoff called “The Farm,” set at Dwight Schrute’s beet farm. If that show gets picked up, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) would presumably be leaving Dunder Mifflin as well. Writer Mindy Kaling, who also plays the wonderfully vapid Kelly Kapoor, is writing and starring in her own pilot for Fox, and John Krasinski, Ed Helms, Jenna Fischer and B.J. Novak — the first two of whom could, and to some extent do, have fairly robust film careers — are all in “stalled” contract negotiations for next season. Even James Spader, whose zen-asshole Robert California has only been on the show for one year, won’t be back.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/03/23/the_office_implodes/feed/ 31 The Zen of Robert California http://www.salon.com/2011/11/03/the_zen_of_robert_california/ http://www.salon.com/2011/11/03/the_zen_of_robert_california/#comments Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:45:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=10161307 The post-Michael Scott version of "The Office" isn't what I expected, but it's growing on me. First I had to get over the fact that James Spader's character -- Robert California, CEO of Dunder-Mifflin's parent company -- isn't quite the scary, malevolent person I hoped he'd be, based on California's debut in last season's finale and Spader's track record of playing unhinged oddballs. California is a mind-effer, to be sure, but he's more benevolent than expected.

There are times when he casually shatters his employees' confidence simply because he's a powerful man who's used to saying whatever pops into his head without fear of punishment. (When he prompted Andy to talk about his attraction to Erin, and Andy obliged, California cut him off with, "I'm afraid you've lost my interest.") But so far there's no indication that he's anything but fundamentally decent; based on last week's Halloween episode, during which he brought his son to work, he's also a good dad with a deep (if unusual) connection to his child. He's not a craven, impulsive, inadvertently destructive person, as Michael often was. He's wry and aloof. He seems to view the goings-on at the Scranton branch from a lofty perspective -- including the reflexive ass-kissing that greets his every pronouncement, no matter how whimsical or baffling. His visits to the Scranton branch are charged with an excitement that no other regular "Office" character ever summoned, and it's not just because he's the CEO. His peculiar energy sparks love and respect as well as fear. (Andy greeted him by blurting out, "Hi, Dad.")

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/11/03/the_zen_of_robert_california/feed/ 5 Fear and hugging at Dunder-Mifflin http://www.salon.com/2011/09/23/office_james_spader_premiere/ http://www.salon.com/2011/09/23/office_james_spader_premiere/#comments Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:01:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/09/23/office_james_spader_premiere Last night James Spader took charge of the post-Steve Carell "The Office" with the same quiet confidence that his on-screen alter ego, Robert California, brought to his eerie job interview last spring. But what, if anything, can the series do with his invigorating energy?

In a piece about Spader's official hiring by NBC over the summer, I wrote:

The beautiful thing about that 'interview' scene in the finale was how it offered an electrifying alternative to the type of boss represented by Michael Scott, and almost everyone angling to replace him. California wasn't a fatuous twit like Michael. He was more like a decadent prince forced to live among the rabble. The office workers had to be on their toes, alert at every second and scrutinizing everything the man across from them was saying, because they could sense that he was brilliant and manipulative -- possibly so brilliant that they couldn't tell precisely how he was manipulating them.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/09/23/office_james_spader_premiere/feed/ 2 Today’s must-see viral videos http://www.salon.com/2011/08/11/viral_videos_star_wars_porn_parody/ http://www.salon.com/2011/08/11/viral_videos_star_wars_porn_parody/#comments Thu, 11 Aug 2011 18:01:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/08/11/viral_videos_star_wars_porn_parody 1. Paul Rudd is your bad marketing idea man:

Even though "My Idiot Brother" looks kind of terrible, I will watch Paul Rudd do basically anything.

Sorry America, the Rudd backlash hasn't begun in my heart quite yet.

2. Chris Crocker needs your money for a documentary:

Come on, you guys remember Chris Crocker right?  He's the "Leave Britney alone!" guy.  Anyway, here's his Kickstarter project for a feature film.

Dig deep into your wallets, folks! This man's story needs to be told!

3. George Lopez "jokes" about being canceled (clip starts at 1:30 mark):

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/08/11/viral_videos_star_wars_porn_parody/feed/ 4 Is this the Afghan version of “The Office”? http://www.salon.com/2011/07/27/tolo_tv_the_ministry/ http://www.salon.com/2011/07/27/tolo_tv_the_ministry/#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:40:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/07/27/tolo_tv_the_ministry Ever since the trailer for Afghan network Tolo TV's new show, "The Ministry" -- about the daily activities of fictional Afghan "Ministry of Garbage" employees -- began circulating on Tuesday, it's been widely compared to transatlantic hit "The Office." If you're curious, here's the preview:

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/07/27/tolo_tv_the_ministry/feed/ 3 James Spader to join “The Office” http://www.salon.com/2011/07/06/james_spader_joins_the_office/ http://www.salon.com/2011/07/06/james_spader_joins_the_office/#comments Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:26:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/07/06/james_spader_joins_the_office James Spader will be joining "The Office," The Hollywood Reporter announced today.

"The Emmy-winning actor will join the half-hour comedy as CEO Robert California of Sabre, the parent company of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Co.  Spader replaces Kathy Bates, who stars in another NBC series, 'Harry's Law'," wrote Philiana Ng. (The surprise buzz last May that British actress Catherine Tate would replace Carell seems to have fizzled.)

If you saw Spader's cameo as Robert California in last season's finale, you know that's good news for viewers. If NBC is indeed committed to keeping the workplace sitcom on the air forever and ever, amen, and milking it for every last dollar it can generate, then casting Spader is a fine way to reinvigorate it. 

The story quotes Paul Lieberstein, an executive producer and series regular (he plays Toby): "James will reprise his role as Robert California, this uber-salesman that has a power to convince and manipulate, like a high-class weirdo Jedi warrior. He'll have been hired over the summer as the new manager, but within hours, got himself promoted. Within days, he took over the company."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/07/06/james_spader_joins_the_office/feed/ 20 “Horrible Bosses”: Hostile work environment http://www.salon.com/2011/07/06/horrible_bosses/ http://www.salon.com/2011/07/06/horrible_bosses/#comments Wed, 06 Jul 2011 20:30:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/andrew_ohehir/2011/07/06/horrible_bosses As inconsequential and virtually indistinguishable sub-Judd Apatow white-boy comedies fueled by prison-rape gags and pants-pissing anxiety around black people go, "Horrible Bosses" is pretty solid entertainment. Did you notice how I adjusted the bar there? It actually took a female colleague to nudge me gently toward the glaringly obvious fact that "Horrible Bosses" recycles its plot from the 1980 hit "Nine to Five" with the feminism drained out of it, which is to say its entire reason for existing is gone. "Horrible Bosses" has no meaning or purpose whatever, but it does have Colin Farrell with a bad comb-over, Kevin Spacey acting really mean and Jennifer Aniston as a spray-tanned sex maniac, and that's going to have to do.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/07/06/horrible_bosses/feed/ 18 Five pop culture items we missed http://www.salon.com/2011/06/24/pop_five_spader_the_office_winklevoss/ http://www.salon.com/2011/06/24/pop_five_spader_the_office_winklevoss/#comments Fri, 24 Jun 2011 22:25:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/06/24/pop_five_spader_the_office_winklevoss 1. Tumblr of the day: Cat on My Stuff. It's like Stuff on My Cat, except the opposite.

2. Twin fail of the day: Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss not only abandoned the appeal of their $65 million settlement with Zuckerberg; now it looks like the duo won't be getting to row in the 2012 Olympics.

3. Woody win of the day: "Midnight in Paris" has become the highest-grossing Woody Allen film since "Hannah and her Sisters."

4. "Friday Night" news of the day: "Friday Night Lights'" Jesse Plemons (who played Landry Clarke, or the one who looked like a towheaded Matt Damon) has a real-life band that isn't terrible! Here are Cowboys and Indians with "Troubled Tracks." 

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/06/24/pop_five_spader_the_office_winklevoss/feed/ 5 Five pop culture items we missed http://www.salon.com/2011/06/22/pop_torn_amanda_wachob_tattoo_tobey_maguire_poker/ http://www.salon.com/2011/06/22/pop_torn_amanda_wachob_tattoo_tobey_maguire_poker/#comments Wed, 22 Jun 2011 22:23:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/06/22/pop_torn_amanda_wachob_tattoo_tobey_maguire_poker 1. Tattoos of the day: Amanda Wachob's ink has been all over the Internet lately.  Which is awesome, because her tattoos really are works of art. And also I have one.

2. Poker game of the day: Tobey Maguire was busted for illegal underground gambling in a card ring that included Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Leonardo DiCaprio! Now they'll have to go to celebrity jail!

3. Celebrity karaoke of the day: Jason Segel, Alison Brie, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski crashed a bachelor party in Ann Arbor, Mich. Insanity and singing ensues.  (Please let this mean Segel is dating "Community's" Brie!)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/06/22/pop_torn_amanda_wachob_tattoo_tobey_maguire_poker/feed/ 4 “Bad Teacher”: Cameron Diaz’s raunchy misfire http://www.salon.com/2011/06/22/bad_teacher/ http://www.salon.com/2011/06/22/bad_teacher/#comments Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:12:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/andrew_ohehir/2011/06/22/bad_teacher "Bad Teacher" keeps threatening to become entertaining without quite getting there, but it took me a while to realize how truly awful it is. This wannabe-outrageous comedy directed by Jake Kasdan (mostly a TV guy, and also the son of "Big Chill" director Lawrence Kasdan) features an enthusiastic but directionless star performance by Cameron Diaz, who does her best to cover up the inanity of the entire project by blanketing the movie with pep and pulchritude, like a leggy ICBM dropping little nuclear warheads all over the landscape. They don't go off. It's got the wonderful English actress Lucy Punch, trying to rescue her screamingly dreadful role as a perky, New Agey social-studies teacher named Amy Squirrel, who becomes the deadly rival of Diaz's foul-mouthed and venal Elizabeth Halsey. It's got Justin Timberlake in big glasses and preppy clothes, who looks dazed in the headlights while playing a dorky, possibly gay-inflected character meant to poke fun at his own image. It's all just an embarrassment, the kind of pointless slog you'll encounter on Netflix in two years and wonder, How the hell did that get made? At one point I tried to make myself laugh at a scene that features an Abe Lincoln impersonator starting to do the "churn butter" dance.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/06/22/bad_teacher/feed/ 34 NBC comedy stars keep themselves relevant after finales http://www.salon.com/2011/06/07/nbc_lineup_baldwin_baseball_offerman_oprah/ http://www.salon.com/2011/06/07/nbc_lineup_baldwin_baseball_offerman_oprah/#comments Tue, 07 Jun 2011 20:08:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/06/07/nbc_lineup_baldwin_baseball_offerman_oprah What do the stars of NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup do during their summer vacation? Keep themselves fresh, of course. Sometimes it's a little hard to tell if these guys can separate themselves from their characters, but who's complaining if there's a real Ron Swanson or Jack Donaghy walking around?

"30 Rock's" Alec Baldwin and "The Office's" John Krasinski have figured out what they're doing with their off-season, and that's punching each other in the face about baseball. No, seriously. In this series for New Era Caps, Baldwin goes head to head with Jim Halpert over their Red Sox/Yankees rivalry. So far there have been three spots, and if you play them in succession it's kind of like watching a crossover episode between the two shows.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/06/07/nbc_lineup_baldwin_baseball_offerman_oprah/feed/ 0 Is this show bad, or am I fickle? http://www.salon.com/2011/05/20/office_parks_and_rec_season_seven_finale/ http://www.salon.com/2011/05/20/office_parks_and_rec_season_seven_finale/#comments Fri, 20 May 2011 13:21:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/05/20/office_parks_and_rec_season_seven_finale "The best part of any relationship is the beginning," said Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) in last night's excellent season finale of "Parks and Recreation."

The line referred to Leslie's office romance with co-worker Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott). But it also cast light on my feelings about this show and its Thursday night stablemate, "The Office," which has sort of been limping along this year, building toward the April 28 departure of office boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell), and then struggling to figure out what to do with itself in his absence. I've been hard on "The Office" as it closes out its seventh season, and kind toward "Parks and Rec," which is two seasons old. And I recently contributed an item to the Washington Post's annual "Spring Cleaning" feature saying that I thought it was time to put the 22-year old "The Simpsons" out of its misery.

Here's the thing: Last night, out of curiosity, I looked back on my TV reviews for Salon and other publications, and realized that I tend to be tougher on shows that have been around awhile than ones that are just starting out.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/05/20/office_parks_and_rec_season_seven_finale/feed/ 43 Is this the new boss of “The Office”? http://www.salon.com/2011/05/19/the_office_catherine_tate/ http://www.salon.com/2011/05/19/the_office_catherine_tate/#comments Thu, 19 May 2011 06:19:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/05/18/the_office_catherine_tate On NBC's "The Office," the Scranton branch of the Dunder-Mifflin paper company is embroiled in a heated search to replacing outgoing boss Michael Scott. Offscreen, though, the job may already be filled by British actress Catherine Tate.

The Hollywood Reporter claims Tate is the frontrunner to take the lead on the long-running sitcom. She's best known stateside for playing the title character's assistant on the David Tennant edition of "Doctor Who" and the Queen of Lilliput in the misbegotten 2010 film of "Gulliver's Travels," opposite Jack Black, but she's got a long resume in the U.K. as a comedian and character actress. She starred in the acclaimed sketch comedy series "The Catherine Tate Show" and is currently acting opposite David Tennant in "Much Ado About Nothing" at London's Wyndham Theater.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/05/19/the_office_catherine_tate/feed/ 43 “Goodbye, Michael” and goodbye, Steve Carell http://www.salon.com/2011/04/29/office_steve_carell_farewell/ http://www.salon.com/2011/04/29/office_steve_carell_farewell/#comments Fri, 29 Apr 2011 04:29:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/04/28/office_steve_carell_farewell Farewell episodes are nearly as impossible as real goodbyes; no matter how sweet, funny or heartfelt they are, they are by definition unsatisfying. What you love is going away. Or in this case, what you love and loathe and find pathetic and weaselly and utterly exasperating. See also: "Scott, Michael."

How do you solve a conundrum like Michael Scott's exit? Do you revert to the show's earlier incarnation -- and push against the later years' tendency toward cuddliness -- by having Michael revert to type and behave like a hateful, selfish, crybaby drama queen? Or do you follow the series' development to its logical endpoint and let the finale be emotional -- or at least as emotional as "The Office" could get without becoming something other than "The Office"?

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/04/29/office_steve_carell_farewell/feed/ 32 What was the best episode of “The Office”? http://www.salon.com/2011/04/22/best_office_episodes_slide_show/ http://www.salon.com/2011/04/22/best_office_episodes_slide_show/#comments Fri, 22 Apr 2011 23:30:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/04/22/best_office_episodes_slide_show Yes, we know; the end of Steve Carell's stint on "The Office" (April 28) doesn't mean the end of the series. It will continue with a new boss, and the search for a replacement is already underway (at least in theory) with guest star Will Ferrell currently playing a grinning despot who casts a vague chill over the place. But this is a milestone in the history of the series -- and, as I have argued, a good moment to have canceled the show altogether. With that in mind, I'm counting down the top 10 episodes of "The Office." Please add your own in the Letters section, be sure to cc your department heads.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/04/22/best_office_episodes_slide_show/feed/ 62 Can Will Ferrell’s cruelty save “The Office?” http://www.salon.com/2011/04/22/the_office_cruelty_carell_departure/ http://www.salon.com/2011/04/22/the_office_cruelty_carell_departure/#comments Fri, 22 Apr 2011 12:01:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/04/22/the_office_cruelty_carell_departure Last week, Steve Carell began his three-week departure from NBC's "The Office," a move that has many critics (and cast members) wondering if the show can survive. Despite good ratings, the past two seasons of "The Office" have been limping along without a clear focus. With Jim and Pam together (with a kid, no less), the driving motivation of the original British series has ended, and "The Office" has begun to meander, looking for its next interoffice romance to become the crux of an aimless show. Watching "The Office" has become almost as monotonous as going to one. Why? Because just like a real office, everyone on the show has stopped being real and started being polite.

While season one of the American "Office" tried to mimic the storylines from its BBC namesake program, the ratings had tumbled by the time of its season finale. Turns out, our audiences only like painfully awkward confrontations during prime time news or on shows about hoarding. Scripted comedies? Not so much. (Though Larry David and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" may beg to differ.)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/04/22/the_office_cruelty_carell_departure/feed/ 17 Is NBC’s Thursday night lineup doomed? http://www.salon.com/2011/04/15/nbc_thursday_night/ http://www.salon.com/2011/04/15/nbc_thursday_night/#comments Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:15:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/04/15/nbc_thursday_night NBC's Thursday night lineup has four comedies that complement each other without seeming like clones -- single-camera, formally playful sitcoms with a whiff of improvisation. I keep hoping the network will fill out its two problematic slots with shows as good as the other four. But between behind-the-scenes casting drama on veteran series ("The Office" losing Steve Carell, rumblings of a "30 Rock" shutdown) and some newer Thursday night shows that seem (or seemed, past tense) like filler, the night will never deliver on its immense promise. Viewers might have to be content with appreciating what's there, not expecting much more, and hoping that the people who run each series know what they're doing -- because NBC clearly doesn't. Vision-wise, the network is shaky.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/04/15/nbc_thursday_night/feed/ 21 The Webby Award nominees you didn’t know about http://www.salon.com/2011/04/12/webbys_2011_nominees/ http://www.salon.com/2011/04/12/webbys_2011_nominees/#comments Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:50:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/04/12/webbys_2011_nominees It’s almost time for the 15th annual Webby Awards, which is like the Oscars except with more Zach Galifianakis and surprisingly fewer references to Facebook. With categories ranging from Best Viral Video (Oh god, please don't let "Bed Intruder" win) to Best Weird (now would be the time to brush up on RatherGood.com), along with more serious topics like Best Political Blog (Huffington Post is on there, which is apparently not a conflict of interest to the Webbys' academy board member Arianna Huffington) and Best Social Media, the nominees reflect those groups and individuals who really poured their heart and soul onto the Web this year. Oh, and FunnyOrDie.com, because they just clean up at these things.

For a complete list of nominees, check out the Webby Awards website, and vote for your favorites. If you don't have the time to go through every viral video category, here's a couple of  under the radar gems you should definitely check out:

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/04/12/webbys_2011_nominees/feed/ 1 Why NBC should close “The Office” http://www.salon.com/2011/03/02/office_season_seven/ http://www.salon.com/2011/03/02/office_season_seven/#comments Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:11:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/03/02/office_season_seven Yes, NBC's "The Office" is still funny. Given the level of talent involved, how could it not be? But as it nears the end of its seventh season (and airs a six-episode marathon March 3 at 8 p.m./7 Central) you can sense a weariness and desperation setting in as the show prepares for life without boss-from-Hell Michael Scott (Steve Carell). This year there have been too many instances where the laughs were light and the actors seemed to be stretching to fill time -- moments where even a die-hard fan could wonder if they might have been better off quitting while they were ahead (everybody has a different definition of "ahead," but I'd go with Season 4 or 5). In its final stretch "The Office" often feels less like a fully imagined comic universe than the longest, greatest "Saturday Night Live" sketch ever. The sitcom rarely musters that squirm-inducing, human train wreck quality that made it a worthy remake of Ricky Gervais' British original. Has it simply mellowed over time, as a person might? Or are we seeing yet another example of network TV's factory mentality (26 episodes a year, series run extended indefinitely) squeezing the vitality and focus from a once-great show?

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